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Gene Chandler Filmography
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Gene Chandler: The Duke lives on
After spending 3 weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Magazine charts, Chandler got a cape, a monocle, a top hat, and a cane. He simply became The Duke of Earl. His concerts were legendary for pulling in the crowd, who were initially there to hear "Duke", but he made them wait until the last song.
Occasionally he would come out for another encore, usually "Rainbow". Rainbow was one of Chandler's collaborations with Curtis Mayfield, and the only song Chandler has ever recorded 3 times. Each time the song has been re-recorded, it became a hit all over again.
Chandler left Vee Jay and recorded for Constellation Records (which was bought by Chess Records) and for Brunswick Records. In the end, he wound up on two record labels at the same time. This left the record labels with having to work out a compromise. It was decided that the companies would alternate Chandler's releases, a new one from Brunswick, followed by a re-release from Chess.
After a number of years on the road, Chandler decided to become more involved with the business end of the music industry. He produced, wrote, arranged, and started his own record label, Bamboo Records. With Bamboo, he had a major hit in 1969 with Mel and Tim's recording of Backfield In Motion. By 1970, Gene Chandler was ready to be on the other side of the microphone again. He signed as an artist with Mercury Records, and recorded "Groovy Situation".
The hits he recorded and produced got him The National Association of Television and Radio Announcers Producer of the Year award in 1970. It should be noted that Chandler was nominated with Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Norman Whitfield, very successful producers at that time, working with the Temptations and the Philadelphia soul sound.
Chandler went on to have a number of disco era hits, including "Get Down", "When You're #1", "Does She Have A Friend?" and "Rainbow '80", though most of these were more popular in England at the time. At that time, he was also the Executive Vice President of Chi-Sound Records. He worked a lot with reggae star Johnny Nash.
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